Durable Solutions to Internal Displacement in South Sudan: A Roundtable Discussion

Two years after becoming independent, internal displacement in South Sudan remains a significant and complex phenomenon. Many refugees returned from Ethiopia, Kenya and other refugee-hosting countries between 2006 and 2008. Returnees from Sudan arrived in large numbers in South Sudan in the lead-up to independence. Many – particularly the most vulnerable among these groups – have never been fully reintegrated. Meanwhile more people continue to be internally displaced by armed conflict, human rights violations, cattle-raiding and natural disasters. In 2013, at least 189,000 persons have been newly displaced in South Sudan. “Development and peace can hardly be achieved when thousands of South Sudanese remain uprooted,” the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), Dr. Chaloka Beyani, said at the end of his mission to South Sudan in November 2013. The implications of continuing displacement for South Sudan’s stability and development highlight the importance of ensuring durable solutions for the country’s IDPs and returnees.

To examine the current situation and prospects for durable solutions in South Sudan, the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement and the International Rescue Committee convened a roundtable discussion under Chatham House rule.

The roundtable report examines in more detail the challenges and potential next steps for developing durable solutions to displacement in South Sudan.